For those of you who have wonderful nannies......

[Earlybird]

For the last 8 months we have had an absolutely wonderful nanny, who has had a tremendously positive influence on dd, and been an invaluable support to me. We may even depend on her more than most other families would, as I am a single mum, so there is no practical/emotional support from a partner/father. Anyway, we all get on extremely well, but DD is 4, and will be entering reception in September, which presents a real childcare dilemma.

At the moment, nanny works 12-7 four days per week, and babysits one night, so works for us about 30 hours per week. She has another job for one day a week. From September when she enters reception, dd will stay late 2 days a weeks, and from January, she will be in school 9-3 for the entire week. So, we face the prospect of needing nanny less, and gradually I will no longer be able to offer our dear nanny the same hours. I understand that this is the logical time to make a "break", but will still need some childcare and would love to hold onto nanny in some form or fashion in a way that appeals to her (and is financially viable for her), and works for us.

I would greatly appreciate suggestions regarding how others have transitioned from nursery to reception with their nannies.

will you need her in holidays?

Have you spoken to your nanny about this? She may well have some suggestions herself or will probably at least be wondering herself what might happen. It would reassure her to know that you share her concerns and between you, you may be able to come up with a solution.

Housekeeping/shopping for you/waiting for deliveries. Particularly as a single mum I imagine help with all those things while dd is at school would be useful, if your nanny is willing. And of course the school holidays! I can see she will be a bit underemployed even with these ideas, but you would also have the reassurance of cover for the inevitable times when your dd is off school ill.

I would second the housekeeping option provided that she is happy to do that, and some nannies are not!

We had to change our nanny to achieve this when my youngest started school, as our old one didn't want to do this type of work. It has worked out really well. Luckily she is very flexible and is happy to do all sorts of things from dropping off dry cleaning, to food shopping, picking up parcels from the PO etc etc

School is a lot more hassle than nursery, they are ALWAYS on holiday. Particularly in the first extra stressful year, when your dd (and you!) are settling in, it may help her to have extra support from beloved nanny. HANG ON TIGHT TO THAT NANNY! Maybe she could take/pick up another child from the same school as a share option.

Thanks for the suggestions. Nanny mentioned to me a few weeks ago that she thought we might "call it a day" sometime over the summer as dd's schedule/our needs will change in September. I was a little startled, as she clearly has been thinking that is the logical step.

She agreed to act as PA over the Christmas holidays when we were away for a month. She took some time off, and then supervised the redecoration of our flat, along with some minor maintenance issues. She subsequently mentioned she was fine about doing it, but felt bored and restless, as she much prefers being busy. Suppose I was thinking that regular pay and being under-utilised for a short period would be a bonus for her as it gives her freedom to do other things at full pay, but she doesn't view it that way. So, I'm not sure she'd be interested in more household type chores in future - at least not on an ongoing basis. But, I could ask.

To her credit, she is quite choosy about who she works for, and wants to ensure she is in a good situation. She turned down a few offers while looking for her one-day-a-week job as she didn't feel the family set up was right for her. So am not at all sure that the idea of me lining up a nanny share for her/us would be agreeable to her. But again, I can only ask.

For what it's worth, I also asked her if she'd come to America with us over the Easter break. Return airfare paid (of course), full pay, own room/bathroom and with option to take a week's holiday out there if she wanted. She declined saying that she doesn't like travelling for work anymore. Not trying to make her sound inflexible, just trying to convey that she has very definite parameters where her job is concerned. And I respect that, even when it isn't exactly what suits me!

As I said before, she's a wonderful nanny. She's fantastic with dd, and a joy to have around the house. However, she has got a clear idea of how she likes/wants to work, and I fear that could be impossible in the fall given our changing needs. She chooses her jobs carefully, and is generally unwilling to compromise because she doesn't have to. That's why I was asking for suggestions of how others have re-worked their schedules in order to keep a valued nanny. I'd welcome any other ideas.